Growth at this stage comes with whiplash.
Seriously, every Marketing leader should be issued a complementary cervical collar. 
It’s not calm. And it’s definitely not predictable.
One day, you’re celebrating a new product launch.
The next, you’re navigating a last-minute acquisition.
Then you’re redoing your roadmap because the tech rollout got delayed, again.
And you’re trying to keep your team focused while the goalposts keep moving.
It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just what scaling looks like.
But that constant motion takes a toll.
Especially when you’re the one leading Marketing through it all, trying to create a sense of stability form the team to function within when…that isn’t really the case.
I had a client in the thick of this.
A strong VP. Sharp instincts. Totally committed.
But she confessed that it was starting to feel like quicksand.
Every time she tried to focus on long-term work, a new fire popped up.
One day it was a quick-turn campaign for a new Sales initiative.
The next, her CEO announced a budget cut. (Cue re-doing the plan, adjusting media, re-balancing the Marketing spend, briefing vendors…you know, the whole deal.)
Her team was busy, but traction was elusive. Progress always felt just out of reach.
And she was getting frustrated.
Frankly, the business environment wasn’t going to change.
So we focused on building bounceback.
In biking, we train for this. Bounceback = resilience. How quickly can you get your heart rate back into a normal range after a sprint or hard effort?
Over time, because you’ve prepared your mind and body to recovery from the extra load your heart rate comes back within normal range, faster.
Creating resilience at work is no different.
So together, we built it – like a training plan.
1. Early Signals, Not Just a Seat
We reframed her role at the exec table. So the other VPs better understood why Marketing needs to be read in earlier and the value of bringing her into “non-Marketing” conversations. (As an example, acquisitions were previously discussed offline between the CFO and VP of Operations.)
That shifted everything. She could see the bumps coming and start preparing early, vs. reacting late. And the business got smarter, more integrated thinking with her in early-stage conversations.
2. Pressure-Tested Systems
We streamlined repeatable tasks, clarified team roles, and built flexible execution systems that could handle the unexpected, without requiring heroics every week.
3. Scenario Drills
We built a simple “what if” playbook for the most likely disruptions that can (and will) occur during this stage of growth. So when they hit (and they did), she wasn’t scrambling.
How’d we do?
She got back a sense of control. (When previously it felt uncontrollable.)
Her team stopped spinning.
And she uncovered efficiencies that made lead gen easier & results went up. (Yay!)
Stress down. Results up.
That’s what structural resilience makes possible.
Resilience isn’t about gutting it out. It’s training for recovery so you return to focus faster, no matter how hard the sprint.
P.S., If you’re leading Marketing through a high-growth stage and the ground keeps shifting beneath you, let’s talk. The Marketing Scale-Up Advisory is a high-trust partnership (with yours truly) for Marketing leaders under pressure to grow fast – giving you the clarity, confidence, and strategic backup to scale with purpose.